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Item Description

Title

Page 1

File Name

_0643_L.pdf

Transcript

20 January 1939.
* 0.5.5. HOU$ TOII1(
/~
Volume I, Number 1. 7 Enroute Gonaives, Haiti
Boxing and Wrestling
Finals Near
WHEN Cruiser Division 4 lines
up its champions against those of
Cruiser Division 7 on 29 January the
Houston will have the greatest num­ber
of representatives from any ship.
Chick, Arthur, Buttler and Fordem­walt
will wrestle in the 118 lb, 145
lb, 155 lb, and 165 lb class weights
respectively whereas Hodge, Harris,
and Lewdanski will don the gloves in
the 147 lb, 160 lb, and heavyweight
classes. This is the greatest array of
boxers and wrestlers that ever repre­sented
the Rambler ship in the cruiser
eliminations. Every man aboard
should be behind these boys. They
ought to go far. Let's give them the
backing and praise they deserve. A
friendly pat on the back or a well
meant " good luck" will show them
your appreciaton.
Cruiser Divisions 5 and 6 hold their
eliminations on 5 February. The win­nerS
then clash for the cruiser cham­pionships
and the right to proceed
against the battleships on 25- 26 Mar.
Fleet finals are on 1st and 2nd of
April.
When our ship leaves for Norfolk
on 2nd of February it is contemplated
to transfer our boxers and wrestlers
to another ship within the division,
probably the Pensacola. It will be no
picnic for these men to know that
they are being left behind while their
ship is returning to the states for a
short while, and due credit should
be given them for representing our
ship then. Fighters, every last one of
them, they show their true sporting
( Continued on Page 2.)
Slaughter Among the Icebergs
An Historical Voyage of Mercy
By Gus
( For all you unlucky readers who
happened to miss the last edition of
the Blue Bonnet and hence the grip­ping
tale of " Slaughter Among The
Icebergs" a brief resume is hereby
given: The Houston while lying at
anchor during the holiday season re­ceives
mystifying orders from the Na­vy
Department to get underway and
proceed to the Polar regions to se­cure
Polar bear meat. This meat is
the only cure known for the strange
disease sweeping the country. The
crew and officers are finally mustered
and the ship is made ready for getting
underway.)
The Story Continues
Every last man aboard down to the
lowest seaman turned to at double
quick cadence in order to prepare the
ship for getting underway. Especially
was this true of the Aviation Cadets.
They were head and shoulders above
the others with their speed and vigor.
Through it all nothing was left to
chance. Men went to work quietly,
efficiently, and quickly, seeming to
know full well the terrible hazards
of the weather in the Polar regions.
Probably this was due to a large ex­tent
on their training but no one can
say that the noble purpose of the trip
did not act as an additional stimulus
in wringing from their bodies many
ergs of work.
Had not a particular boat cox'n
shown remarkable forethoughtfulness
probably a good share of the crew
would have suffered most horribly
( Continued on Page 2.)
Panama Canal Cost $ 510,901,364
Yearly Capacity of 17,000
T HE Panama Canal connects the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through
the nal'l'OW isthmus where the long
Continental Divide, extending from
Alaska to the Straits of Magellan,
dips to one of its lowest points. In
ancient geological periods there was
a natural channel here but later the
land rose and left the Isthmus as a
natural barrier between the oceans.
The line of the Canal goes up the
valley of the Chagres River on the
Atlantic slope passes through the
Continental Divide at Gaillard Cut,
and descends to the Pacific Ocean
down the Valley of the Rio Grande.
Following this route the Canal is
40.27 statues miles in length from
shore line to shore line, and 50.72
miles from deep water to deep water.
Passage of a ship through the Canal
requires about eight hours.
Since the Atlantic entrance is 33.52
statute miles north and 27.02 west
of the Pacific entrance, ships passing
from the Pacific to the Atlantic side
travel from East to West instead of
the opposite direction as would natur­ally
be the course.
Gatun Lake which was formed as
a result of the damming of the Cha­gres
River at Gatun Dam, has an
area of 163.38 square miles with a
shore line of 1,100 miles when the sur­face
is at its elevation of 85' above
sea level. It is second largest artifici­ally
formed lake in the world, exceed­ed
only by the lake formed by Boulder
Dam.
IContinued on Page 3.)